Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) has single-handedly lost his employer nearly a billion dollars, and is planning suicide when the phone rings; it's his sister, delivering the news that their father has died. Dad had been visiting his family in Kentucky, and it's up to Drew to go to Elizabethtown and bring the body back home to Oregon. Drew hasn't seen his father's large extended family years, and is somewhat overwhelmed by being immersed in this close-knit group.
On the way to Kentucky, Drew meets flight attendant Claire (Kirsten Dunst), an insufferably perky motormouth; they are attracted to one another and spend almost the entire movie in a series of "meet cute" scenes that are neither funny nor believable. Dunst is an actress I normally like, but she's awful here, so caught up in her character's quirkiness that she never finds any humanity to go with it.
As for Bloom, this is his first romantic lead, and his first significant role that doesn't call for period costume (he's played elves, pirates, cowboys...), and he's dull as can be; it's impossible to understand why Claire is interested in Drew (aside from the fact that he's really really attractive), because he has no personality whatsoever.
The movie's most interesting moments come from minor characters. Susan Sarandon plays Drew's mother. She has only one major scene -- her husband's eulogy -- and it is the most blatant "Hello, I'd like an Oscar nomination, please!" scene I've seen in many years; Sarandon being Sarandon, of course, the scene is impeccably played, and it's one of the best moments in the movie.
The most unexpected face in the movie is that of Food Network host Paula Deen, who has a small role as one of Drew's many aunts. She's essentially playing herself, or at least playing the same persona she presents on her food shows, but she does so better than many non-actors have managed.
There's another nice scene that shows Drew driving into Elizabethtown; along the side of the road and sitting on their porches are all of the town's residents, pointing Drew down the road, indicating which corners he needs to turn to get where he's going. It's that sort of small town -- everybody knows that Drew is arriving that afternoon, and everyone knows (though most have never seen him) that this car must be Drew, because it's the only strange car to drive through town all day.
But for all the nice touches and details -- the soundtrack music is, as usual with Crowe's movies -- impeccably chosen -- the two central characters are so dull and annoying that there's no reason to care whether or not they wind up together, and if you don't care about the central couple in a romantic comedy, there's no reason to watch.
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